Phillies slugger has mashed his way back into NL MVP race

With just a month of regular-season baseball remaining, some of MLB's award races have already been sorted out.

Once a hotly contested battle, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has all but claimed the NL Cy Young Award. Meanwhile, Athletics first baseman Nick Kurtz has turned a torrid summer into an insurmountable lead for AL Rookie of the Year. Skenes currently possesses -10.000 odds to win his first Cy Young, while Kurtz is a near-guarantee to claim ROTY at -20,000 odds, per FanDuel.

However, one player has proven that he doesn't care about the odds. 

A contender for NL MVP all season, Philadelphia Phillies DH Kyle Schwarber is having a career season in his fourth go-round in Philly. The three-time All-Star has consistently lit up the scoreboard as a Phillie, launching at least 38 homers in each of the last four seasons. But this year has somehow been even better for the two-time World Series champ.

Despite pacing the MLB in RBIs and ranking near the top of the league in homers, Schwarber has only been a serious contender to win MVP for a short period. Shohei Ohtani's return to being a two-way powerhouse has shut down any argument against him winning his fourth MVP award. 

Just a week ago, the five-time All-Star boasted -20,000 odds for NL MVP while Schwarber was a distant second at +1,700. But the 32-year-old's performance on Thursday night may have singlehandedly pulled him back into the race.

Schwarber became the third player this season, but just the 21st in MLB history, to launch four homers in the same game in a 19-4 walloping of the Atlanta Braves. 

With this four-home run, nine-RBI masterclass, Schwarber has suddenly found himself as the lone talent who can truly challenge Ohtani in 2025. The veteran slugger's MVP odds have skyrocketed to +500 while Ohtani's runaway advantage has shrunk to just -900. 

Schwarber is just one long ball shy of the Seattle Mariners' Cal Raleigh for the MLB lead. He also now has 11 more RBIs than any other player in baseball. With an OBP of .370, it's hard to say anyone's been more effective at the plate than Schwarber this season.

Schwarber has only continued to improve with age. In what very well may go down as his best season in the MLB, he's already set career highs across the board.

It'll take some more magic for Schwarber to overtake Ohtani as the NL MVP favorite. But the fact that he's been able to make the race a true competition is a win in its own right.